Maverick Success educates on campus resources

A workshop on finding and utilizing campus resources was held Thursday by the Maverick Success. 

Led by Recruitment and Retention Graduate Assistant Shuepheng Lee, , attendees discussed their worries about finding necessary resources. The workshop also consisted of attendees learning what resources Minnesota State provides, as well as where they are and when they’re open.

“I think it’s important for students to know about our campus resources because oftentimes our students are either coming from out of the country, out of the state, or their first time leaving home. And, when that happens, a lot of our students are, on their own and they feel lost, they don’t know what to do, they’re not sure who they can talk to, and a workshop like this can help provide some insight on what resources that the university provides for our students, and making sure that they feel more comfortable here,” Lee said.

The workshop discussed the counseling center, the campus hub, the multicultural center and more. MSU provides on-campus tutoring, countless clubs and communities, a food pantry, free counseling, a doctor’s office, a pharmacy and more. Even if this isn’t your first year on campus, there are several resources that many students are still not aware of.

“Our campus resources provide equitable support for our students based on whatever needs that they have; for example, our accessibility resources office, our counseling center, they’re all great resources here at the university that students aren’t always aware of, so just bringing that to their attention is enough to provide that level of support where, if they aren’t aware of it, it goes back to them feeling lost and unsure if they really do belong here at the university. And these resources often go unnoticed and that does end up with students feeling like they don’t know why they’re here, ultimately they just feel lost, and when that happens, students tend to leave. And these resources, and providing knowledge about it and information about these resources can help prevent that.”

“I work within diversity and inclusion, we always talk about creating equitable access to resources here at the university, or just in general. And bridging the gap that there is, with our marginalized and diverse students. Because most of our students are first-generation, they don’t really know what’s here to help them, and a lot of the information that I wanted to talk about today was things that were … We should be talking about mental health, we as an institution should be talking about mental health, and letting students know like ‘Hey, this is what we have,’ letting students know ‘If you need help with financial aid or anything like that, talk about your FAFSA or your loans, campus hub can help you with that.’ If you have health concerns, health services is here for you.”

Lee said these are services students are unaware of or are unsure about utilizing, and having them look it up directly on the school website teaches them to figure it out for themselves instead of feeling lost.

The Maverick Success team will be hosting several talks and workshops this semester, the next one will be in February about financial aid and scholarships.

Write to Ellie Meschke at eleanor.meschke@my.normandale.edu

Header Photo: The Maverick Success Program held a workshop about Minnesota State’s campus resources, led by Recruitment and Retention Graduate Assistant Shuepheng Lee.